Story 1258: Nightmare Cells

They left the hydroponics lab in silence.

The stench of wilted Bloom tendrils clung to their skin. Every corridor beyond felt colder, narrower, like the entire underground facility had exhaled and was now holding its breath.

H-13 moved like a shadow—quiet, precise. Juno walked ahead, guided by instinct and half-reclaimed memories. Shade trailed behind, watching their backs.

“What’s next?” Shade asked, his voice echoing off steel.

Juno paused at a sealed bulkhead.

“The source,” she said. “Where the Bloom was originally locked down before it started leaking through VIREX’s experimentation zones.”

She activated the panel using her genome ID.

The door hissed open—and immediately, the temperature dropped.

Inside, there were cells.

Dozens.

Rows of isolation chambers built from reinforced glass and strange dark metal that pulsed faintly with light.

But what chilled them wasn’t the structure—it was what the rooms contained.

Nothing.

Each cell was empty.